Method and apparatus for displaying information in a vehicle

Abstract

A method and apparatus for displaying information in a vehicle is provided. Initially, navigation information is received from at least one of a remote database via a wireless network and a local sensor. A driver attention threshold is then determined from the received navigation information. Information from a network information source is displayed in the vehicle if the driver attention threshold is exceeded by a display allowance value indicative of least one of a type of information to be displayed and a type of media to be displayed.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. Method for providing information on a display in a vehicle, the method comprising: 
       receiving navigation information from at least one of a remote database via a wireless network and a local sensor;  
       determining a driver attention threshold from the received navigation information; and  
       displaying information received from a network information source via the wireless network if the driver attention threshold is exceeded by a display allowance value indicative of at least one of a type of information to be displayed and a type of media to be displayed.  
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein the receiving, determining and displaying steps are updated upon movement of the vehicle. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein the navigation information from the local sensor comprises at least one of information from a turn indicator, information from a steering wheel, information from a global positioning system (GPS), information from a speedometer, information from proximity sensors and information from an eye-tracking device. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein the navigation information from the remote database comprises at least one of weather information, traffic information and local ordinance information. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  wherein the driver attention threshold is indicative of a level of attention required by a driver of a given level of skill. 
     
     
       6. The method of claim I wherein the step of determining comprises: 
       assigning an initial value to the driver attention threshold value using navigation information from at least one sensor.  
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6  wherein the step of determining further comprises: 
       updating the driver attention threshold using the navigation information from at least one remote database, where the navigation information comprises weather information and traffic information.  
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7  wherein the navigation information further comprises local ordinance information. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       adjusting the display allowance value using the local ordinance information.  
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9  wherein the step of adjusting further comprises: 
       determining whether a value of the local ordinance information is lower than the display allowance value; and  
       if so, updating the display allowance value with the value of local ordinance information.  
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1  wherein the display allowance value, for each type of information and each type of media, is contained in a data structure. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11  wherein the display allowance values vary for different drivers of the vehicle. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1  wherein the information to be displayed from the network information source comprises information from a remote server computer. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1  wherein the type of information to be displayed comprises at least one of driver warnings, information requiring a driving decision, normal communication information, and advertisements. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 1  wherein the type of media to be displayed comprises at least one of text, images and video. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
       determining whether a cellular telephone is being used;  
       assigning a phone value for using the cellular telephone; and  
       disabling the cellular telephone if phone value is less than the driver attention threshold.  
     
     
       17. An apparatus for providing information on a display in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: 
       an interface for receiving navigation information from at least one of a remote database and a local sensor;  
       a memory for storing a display program;  
       a display device, coupled to the interface, for displaying information from a network information source via the wireless network; and  
       a microprocessor, coupled to the interface and the memory, wherein the microprocessor, upon executing the display program is configured to:  
       determine a driver attention threshold from the navigation information received at the interface; and  
       provide information from the network information source to the display device if the driver attention threshold is exceeded by a display allowance value indicative of at least one of a type of information to be displayed and a type of media to be displayed.  
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the interface comprises, a wireless interface configured to receive navigation information from a local database, and a sensor interface configured to receive navigation information from at least one local sensor. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the memory further stores a profile table comprising of a plurality of display allowance values for different types of information to be displayed and different media types to be displayed. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the display device comprises a heads-up display located on the front window. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the display device is located in the vehicle to at least one of least one of a dashboard, a steering wheel, and above a stereo module. 
     
     
       22. A computer readable medium storing a software program that, when executed by a computer, causes a microprocessor to perform operations comprising: 
       receiving navigation information from at least one of a remote database via a wireless network and a local sensor;  
       determining a driver attention threshold from the received navigation information; and  
       displaying information received from a network information source via the wireless network if the driver attention threshold is exceeded by a display allowance value indicative of at least one of a type of information to be displayed and a type of media to be displayed.  
     
     
       23. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the receiving, determining and displaying operations are updated upon movement of the vehicle. 
     
     
       24. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the navigation information from the sensor comprises at least one of information from a turn indicator, information from a steering wheel, information from a global positioning system (GPS), information from a speedometer, information from proximity sensors and information from an eye-tracking device. 
     
     
       25. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the navigation information from the remote database comprises at least one of weather information, traffic information and local ordinance information. 
     
     
       26. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the driver attention threshold is indicative of a level of attention required by a driver of a given level of skill. 
     
     
       27. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein determining comprises: 
       assigning an initial value to the driver attention threshold value using navigation information from at least one sensor.  
     
     
       28. The computer readable medium of  claim 27  wherein determining further comprises: 
       updating the driver attention threshold using the navigation information from at least one remote database, where the navigation information comprises weather information and traffic information.  
     
     
       29. The computer readable medium of  claim 28  wherein the navigation information further comprises local ordinance information. 
     
     
       30. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the method further comprises: 
       adjusting the display allowance value using the local ordinance information.  
     
     
       31. The computer readable medium of  claim 30  wherein adjusting further comprises: 
       determining whether the value of the local ordinance information is lower than the display allowance value; and  
       if so, updating the display allowance value with the value of local ordinance information.  
     
     
       32. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the display allowance value, for each type of information and each type of media, is contained in a data structure. 
     
     
       33. The computer readable medium of  claim 32  wherein the display allowance values vary for different drivers of the vehicle. 
     
     
       34. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the information to be displayed from the network information source comprises information from a remote server computer. 
     
     
       35. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the type of information to be displayed comprises at least one of driver warnings, information requiring a driving decision, normal communication information, and advertisements. 
     
     
       36. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the type of media to be displayed comprises at least one of text, images and video. 
     
     
       37. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the operations further comprise: 
       determining whether a cellular telephone is being used;  
       assigning a phone value for using the cellular telephone; and  
       disabling the cellular telephone if phone value is less than the driver attention threshold.  
     
     
       38. The computer readable medium of  claim 22  wherein the type of media to be displayed comprises a format in which the information is to be displayed.